#i just think not everything is that deep like some people seem to think

[hipstersfoundmyrobot]

I was asked to do this, and I am sorry because the idea I just got is so fucked up.

"Now, in other news, a representative of a specialized government branch is about to showcase their latest findings in an effort to secure more funding. To Jamie Pine, live on the scene."

"Thank you. Many business men and members of Congress are present today. Everything has been kept very secretive and no one truly knows what is to be unveiled today. Some think it might be a new energy source, others are talking about weaponry.

"Representative Agent W. has stepped on stage, let us listen to her speech." The camera zooms in on a woman in a white suit, standing on stage. Behind her, a curtain is drawn.

"I would like to say how grateful the GIW is that so many have shown up today." Another camera pans across the public, people in cocktail dresses and suits. Lex Luthor and the Wayne family are the most notable.

"Over the years, humanity and America have had to learn that there was much we didn't know. From aliens to other dimensions, there is much to be studied still, and much more that we must learn to protect ourselves against.

"Our organization's aim is to study and protect ourselves against entities that have proven, time and again, that they are hostile to our people. Despite their best efforts to evade capture and impede our progress, we have managed to capture the strongest of these beings."

Applause rings through the room, the woman lifts an arm and the curtain is pulled. The crowd falls silent. There are gasps and murmurs around the room.

The camera zooms on a figure in a green tube. A humanoid figure, one could say a young man, stripped and restrained. The man is scarred all over and his white hair is floating around him. Green eyes open, filled with fear and tears, gaze into the camera and the news feed goes dark.

The Bats, as the Waynes, exchange looks of varying horror and determination as the curtain drops. With a nod, they split up, unable to let this charade go on any longer.

Tim walks to a corner and takes out his tablet. In a few minutes, he has blocked any information from leaving the room and he can already see the reporters panicking.

Dick slips unnoticed into a service hallway and pulls the fire alarm. When he exits, he is in his Nightwing suit and helping Signal usher people out the doors of the conference hall.

Bruce makes a call to the Justice League and disappears with the crowd to don the Batman mask.

Jason hasn't moved. He can't help but stare at too familiar scars. It's not the obviously fresh wounds that attract his attention, though. It's the scar above his right temple, the one under his chin and, he lifts a hand to his own chest, the Y-shaped incision.

The fire alarm shakes him out of his stupor and he runs off, he comes back with a helmet on, barely noting that he hasn't changed his clothes. He jumps on stage, making his way through white blurs. They might be trying to stop him but he won't let them.

As he stops in front of the tube, too green eyes seem to stare into his soul, and he knows his eyes are the same shade behind the helmet. With a hit from the butt of his gun, the glass shatters and he collects the man into his arms.

He doesn't look away, just bundles him up in his jacket and carries him out of the room. He doesn't know where he's going but lets familiar hands guide him somewhere.

Jason finally regains his senses. He is sitting, Bruce is kneeling in front of him, a hand on his cheek. He looks up, the Watchtower medical room, a black-haired man, asleep on the cot, scar near the temple and on his chin. He takes a deep grounding breath.

His voice is softer than he's ever heard and he wonders how long he's been out of it. "B, what's going on ?"

Jason and Danny look nothing alike, well besides the hair and eyes. They have different facial features, body types, and vocal inflections... But their scars are exactly the same.

[revelboo]

Cab we have more tfa Blurr pretty plis :3

Sure!

A-Ok Pt 4

Blurr x Reader

• It’s almost hilarious how very uncomfortable he is about touching you as he gingerly cups his hands around you, kneels to set you on your feet, and then backs away like he thinks you might explode. And immediately starts pacing again and muttering. He reminds you of videos you’ve seen of hummingbirds, all frantic energy. Like being still is death. “Watching you is giving me anxiety.”

• Can’t tell if you’re serious, because you’re smiling up at him with one eyebrow arched. And he has no idea what to do with you. His base of operations compromised. His secrecy compromised. What if they bust him back down a rank? When he’d fought so hard for this position, hearing them whisper behind his back that he’s too quick, too fidgety to work intel or to be a spy. That he can’t. So sick of being told that. And you. What is he supposed to do with you? Maintaining secrecy is everything if he wants to find the traitor among them. You think you have anxiety? Pacing as his own processor frantically runs scenarios, he stumbles and almost falls, staggering on one leg when you just step in his way. “Do you want to be stepped on?”

• “Sit down. Right now.” It’s the same tone you use with your little cousins. All business and no room for argument. Don’t really expect him to listen to you, but he slowly lowers himself to sit to your shock. Alright then. Because anxiety is something you understand and this guy? He seems to run on it. Sitting down in front of him, cross legged, you take a deep breath. And he’s just staring at you. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. ‘What are we doing right now?’ He asks, hands fidgeting restlessly. “Taking a moment.”

• A moment when there’s so much to do? Venting in annoyance, he stays still when you shoot him a look. ‘I know that rush. The adrenaline. Going so fast it feels like flying. I love that feeling,’ you say and he watches you press a hand to your chest. Where a spark would be in a Cybertronian and he slowly mirrors you, servos pressed to his chassis. Attention turning inward to the steady thrum of his spark. ‘But sometimes you just have to stop or you’ll drown.’ Like everything you need to do is a wave poised to crash over him. He understands this.

• “I could use some help. A human agent,” he says as you ground yourself with the beat of your heart. And he’s not fidgeting right this second. He’s still. “I don’t know this world. It’s people. Customs. Rules.” Nope. There it is, servos lifting and falling restlessly on his chassis, unable to sit still. Then it clicks. That he’s asking for help. ‘What exactly are you doing here?’ You ask as he gets back up and starts moving again.

Previous

[kiyzukiy]

Cat distribution system

Sypnosis: Life is hard as it is, so all we all wish for is some comfort in a furry friend. No one accounted for life playing funny tricks so what would happen if you find Caleb in a trash dumpster?

Tags: reader x Caleb, fluff, Cat!Caleb, crack?, funny (hopefully)

A/N: I got inspired by another fic I found on here with a similar flow. If anybody knows what I'm talking about please tag that person. I don't want to disregard any original ideas! >.<

As always, if I missed any tags please tell me.

Word count: 4.8k

I hope you enjoy <3

Divider by me

You groan as you stretch yourself out. Sitting too long is always such a hassle. Tired bones and you felt like your muscles have calcified. If you wouldn't have moved now someone could have mistaken you for a stone statue the way you were perched at your work desk and scrolled endlessly through files. 

Doesn't matter now though. The clock finally releasing you from your workload. Tomorrow was also a day and the files wouldn't suddenly grow legs and run away. No need to do overtime today. 

You rubbed your face. Trying to shake off your exhaustion and slowly blinking the dryness in your eyes away. One more stretch that let out a satisfying crack in your back and you stood up. Packing your things together and making sure that this time you also took your thermal mug with you. Waving your coworkers goodbye you made your way home. Head already in the clouds with your game. Planning your time out of doing your dailies and just admiring your favourite fictional man. A pity that they don’t build men like that in real life.

The chill evening air hitting your face made you shiver the first step you took outside. Cuddling up in your coat and wrapping your scarf up just a tad higher you began your track home. 

Fuck it's cold, you think to yourself. When would spring arrive and you didn't have to be out in this freezing weather anymore? Don't get me wrong, winter is something beautiful and when the snow hits the landscape it was akin to a fairy tale setting. The sunsets even more stunning with the low light and making everything glisten. Colours spreading over the horizon in deep violet and heartwarming orange. Frozen over roads just a bit slippery which made your way to work a small adventure when you played the game “do I land on my bum today or not?”. But enough was enough. 

You wanted the sun back in your days having had your fill with this gloomy grey cloudscape. Waking up when it was still dark out and going home when night greets you again was draining more of your energy than you liked to admit. What made matters worse wasn't even that it didn’t affect only you, but that the melancholic and cold atmosphere was spreading slowly over to the people around you. It was in the way minor inconveniences would grate the nerves of your colleagues or the small tick of the jaw of your boss. The forced smile in service people who normally would make it seem genuine. Point was: everyone was fed up and ready for the seasons to change. When was the last time you saw the sun actually? Was it last October? Two weeks ago? You don't remember anymore. Just- just a long time ago. Pretty sure. Maybe you were a bit dramatic but all you wanted was to feel the warmth again and getting your vitamin D in. 

A rustle next to you snapped you out of your self-pitying lament. Confused you turned your head to the right. Nothing. Just a dark alley. A car passed you by on your left, shortly illuminating a sliver of said alley. A dumpster could be made out but nothing exciting. You shrugged your shoulders and took one step, but another rustle stopped you once more. A sigh left you. Would you really go investigate? You swore this is how the stupid character out of a horror movie always died. This exact way but the curiosity in your mind and veins tried their very best to lure you into that alley to go look. One peak wouldn't hurt right? A man who wanted to drag you into it would have done it by now. There wouldn't be a more perfect chance than right now. The way you stood there like a fine lady in bewilderment. 

This is what you get when you forget the one time your headphones at home. If it would be any other day, you would have continued on. Having passed this particular alley countless times and in daylight it wouldn’t be as scary as it was in this instance. Hopping from one foot to the other, you were uncertain. Would you really? You also could just…leave. Never finding out and always wondering. Spending sleepless nights wondering what could have been in this very alley that made these rustling noises. Or you would forget about it as soon as tomorrow morning came. Maybe it was just the wind that blew over a leaf or bag. On the other hand this could be a cool story you could tell your friends about. Or you could get mugged. 

Alright fuck it. You go. Otherwise you would stand out here in the cold for the next ten minutes pondering about if this decision will have negative consequences on your life. 

Tentatively you took one step into the alley. Instantly your common sense kicked in and pressed adrenaline into your veins. My god, this is the way you would die. Mentally have written your testament and who you would leave behind what you took another step. 

“Hello?”, you asked hesitantly into the night. Frustrated with yourself you grunted. Naturally a serial killer would answer you out of the alley with “yes, behind this dark corner. I made sandwiches, you want one?”. 

You had half a mind just turning back around again, but as if on cue another rustle. This time followed with a bang out of the dumpster. You let out a breath of relief. Oh by the gods, it was just a stray animal…or was it? Nevertheless the strong grip of fear that held your breathing back let a bit loose and you made your way to the dumpster with sure steps. 

Your heart clenched in your chest at the thought that maybe an unlucky racoon got trapped in the dumpster and would meet an unsightly end in one of the waste disposal sites. Without a second thought you opened it and peered inside. Barely enough light from the street lights flooded one side of the dumpster and you saw- nothing. It was pitch black. Quickly you patted your pockets. First coat and then your pant pockets for your phone. One hand fished for it and rather clumsy you unlocked it to get to your flashlight. Now with your weapon of light you peered inside once more and this time you saw- trash. At first. A lot of it, nothing out of the ordinary for a dumpster in a lived in neighborhood. Out of the corner of your eye you saw movement and following it was your hand with your phone. 

“Naaww you poor guy. How did you end up in here?”, you cooed after you spotted a brown cat that had a completely black right arm. Its fluffy fur was completely damped and it looked very dirty. Also something you could expect of a stray cat. Slowly and cautiously you held out your hand to it as to not scare the cat away. 

“Come here. Let me help you”, you said in a low voice. The cat looked at you, then at your hand, rather unimpressed. In true cat manner it seemed like it wanted to say “I don't need your help puny little human”. You giggled. 

“Come on. I don't bite and as soon as you are out of the dumpster I leave you alone. What do you say?”, you tried to reason with the cat as if it could understand you. To your astonishment it acted like it did. Suspicious of your hand the cat sniffed it first. Deeming you not an immediate threat it rose up from its position and stepped closer to your hand and yourself. Slowly you dragged your hand to a spot where you could easily grab the cat and lift it out. 

“Alright buddy. I’m going to grab you now so don't make me regret it by scratching me”, you spoke more to yourself than the cat. You really didn't want to go to the next doctor and get a tetanus vaccine in. The cat still unimpressed with you followed your movement though. Securely you wrapped one hand around its ribcage and the other, after putting your phone away, beneath its hind paws and scooped it up and over the dumpster back on the ground. 

“There ya go”, you smiled down at the cat. “Didn’t even hurt.” 

The cat looked up at you and only then do you notice its blue eyes that really dipped into a deep violet. A splatter of yellowish green accompanied the irises. For such a beautiful cat to be a stray, you almost didn't believe it. 

Also, the cat didn't move. You fully expected it to dash away as soon as its paws were back on the ground but it just stood in front of you. Almost like it was waiting for something. 

“Go on now. Go home”, you crouched down and offered your hand again. “Or don't you have a home? Such a beautiful cat as yourself.” 

The cat once more went to your hand. Starting to purr as it rubbed its head against your hand. Demanding pats. 

“Yes”, you giggled. “Such a handsome cat. And friendly too. You must have a home, right?” 

The cat meowed as if it tried to answer you. Your heart broke a bit. For sure this handsome fellow had a home. As you absentmindedly patted the cat all over you looked around. You felt no collar around the cat’s neck and wondered who it could belong to. Thinking about what to do next, the cat started to rub itself around you. Bumping into you and almost pushing you out of balance. 

“Alright, alright”, you began patting it in earnest again. 

“So, how about I take you home with me for now and then just put up missing posters, hm? Is that a plan?”, you asked the cat. Meowing back at you, you took it as a yes to your plan. Inwardly you celebrated. The cat distribution system finally chose you! Maybe not for long but you now were in the possession of a new cuddly friend. You might not have anything at home but that could be easily fixed. This beautiful fellow also might not stick around for long but for however long you swore you would take the best care of him. Her? It? Right, you never ascertained which gender the cat had. Eh, whatever. As long as you didn't get attached to it and without much pain could give it away again, all was good. Right. Right? 

Future you will hate you for this decision. 

The cat stretched, walking around you once more and then pawing at your knees as if to beg to get picked up again. Opening your coat and scooping it up from the ground, you fulfilled the cat’s wishes. 

“My god. You are really friendly”, you mused to yourself and scratched the cat's head to which in return it purred even louder. 

Together you made your way out of the alley. The dumpster forgotten and your way home just a bit warmer. 

“Don’t run away, okay?”, you said softly to the cat before untangling it from your torso. On your track home it made itself very comfortable on you while you carried it. Its head often flitting from one place to another. You blamed the new height of perspective for the cat's behaviour. Couldn’t blame it, really. Imagine yourself getting hoisted up five times your own height and then carried around places that you never seen before. Now that would be an adventure. For the most part the breathing was calm so you didn’t worry that much. More surprised at the fact how the cat didn’t struggle once to get free. Just enjoying the free ride. 

Cat on the ground in front of the door of your apartment you dove one hand into your bag, trying to find your keys that you carelessly flung inside. With half an eye on the cat all the time. Not that it would decide in the last moment to make a run for it. Granted that it wouldn’t come far or could cats push open an apartment complex door? Probably not or the coincidence would just be big enough that one of your neighbors decided to go out in that exact moment as well. 

You shook your head off these thoughts. Cat was still on the ground and eyeing your door expectantly. Seemingly cat wasn’t even thinking about going anywhere but inside your apartment and here you were already thinking about all the different possible scenarios that would ensue when it ran away. Silly you. 

Key victoriously between your fingers you finally unlocked your home and cat dashed inside like the devil was after it. Puzzled you stood at your door for a bit. 

“Alright? Well…make yourself at home, I guess”, slowly trudging you went after it into your own four walls. Serotonin tingling your brain with the happiness that cat was very excited to explore its new home. 

Exhaustion slowly made itself apparent. Clawing at you and dragging your already tired body. Exhaustion and hunger but motivation wasn’t nowhere near you to make yourself food instantly. Cat on the other hand was curiously looking around. Taking in its new environment. Sniffing, patting around and jumping on shelves to get a better view. 

“Don’t throw it down, I swear to god”, you warned as you spotted cat near a vase with flowers inside. Body despite the sluggish feeling ready to jump to save the vase from its crashing end. Expertly the cat avoided the glass and danced around anything that was not stable. You let out a breath of relief. Automatically your body carried to your couch in the living room on which you rather unceremoniously slumped down on. Ah, finally home. 

_____

How the fuck did he get here? One moment he was in the deepspace tunnel, conducting a new mission and the next he had four paws. Trash surrounded him, it was fucking dark too. He could make out the sound of cars passing by and people walking on the street. Where was he? To his own surprise he wasn’t that cold until he realised that he had fur as well and when he tried to speak only a meow came out. In no way in hell did he turn into a cat, did he? No. What? 

In his moment of utter disorientation, a lid opened and a beautiful face peered down to him. Down? Ah, right. The cat thing. 

Caleb watched you fumble for your phone only to be blinded the very next moment by the harsh light of a phone flashlight. It took several blinks to get his bearing again. You reached out your hand to him. Now this was getting ridiculous. “Poor guy”? “How did he end up here”? Sweetheart, that's what he should be asking. Who the fuck are you anyway and why did you open up this-? Where was he? Is this a trash dumpster? Oh his fucking gods. If he could sigh in annoyance, he would. 

Caleb eyed your hand suspiciously. The smart move would be to take it. Considering everything, he couldn’t get out of this dumpster alone and what could be worse is that, tomorrow the dumpster could be emptied. Nor did he trust humanity enough that another friendly soul would come and pick him up or at least get him out. You were his only shot right now, even if he didn’t want to admit it. So? He sniffed you. Creepy in his own mind but he was a cat now. The least he could do was to make it look convincing. 

You pulled your hand closer to yourself as if to lure him out of his corner. As if he wouldn’t just go to you willingly. How long would he need to put up with this act? Irritation flared up within him. This is so beneath him. 

Scratch you? Yeah, why not actually? Instead he let him get picked up gently. Now was not the time to bite the hand that was feeding him.

The moment was faster over than he could comprehend. Swoop- and he was back on the ground. Caleb looked around. Alright, an alley and- you. In your full glory. Black pants, hair tied up, thick scarf around your neck, an open hanging coat and warm looking boots. Beautiful, pretty and cozy looking. Not a threat. A quick scan and he was certain you carried no gun. Not his worst choice, he thought. 

Let's make a run for it. What do cats normally do to get pity? Humans usually die to pet them. Swallowing his pride he went to you. Did he like to get touched? Sensitive question. If it would be his childhood friend, he wouldn’t mind but a complete stranger? In this form no less? God, that needed willpower and he was already running low because of this situation. Please let this all be a dream and he would wake up in a few moments in Skyhaven. 

“A home?”, yeah in the arms of someone else but that was not here. Just where in heaven sake was he? Get this over with, woman and just take him with you. 

Please, he meowed. Inwardly he sighed. Good lord…

Mercy was shown and you actually picked him up. Giddy and a happy smile on your face you wrapped him up in your coat. It was warm and against his own doing he began to purr at the sensation. Okay so maybe this wasn’t as bad as he imagined. Distracted a bit and sleep pulling at him, he let himself enjoy this small reprieve for a bit. 

Lights flitted by behind his eyelids and he looked around. First fact? This is not Linkon nor Skyhaven. Second, he didn’t recognise anything. If this was in fact a dream, his subconsciousness was running wild today. The only thing grounding him was you. Your warmth, your soothing touch and your somewhat familiar scent that he confused with that of MC. It wasn’t as overwhelming or confusing when he could nuzzle up to you for now. Just shortly, only for a bit. To get his mind back on track, you know? 

The walk you both took, well- you took with him being carried, was not long lived. You said something but he didn’t pay any attention. Something something not running away something something. Where would he go anyway? For christ sake he was a cat right now. First thing he needs to get rid off anyway. Second thing was to get back home. Like home. Once more begging to the skies above that this was a dream. A very vivid one. Caleb couldn't decide if this was a nightmare or not. Was he maybe more exhausted than he wanted to admit? Did he have an accident on his expedition and was now in a coma? Please let it be just that. Maybe also just cognitive training done by Ever. What does he know? 

He heard keys jiggling, a soft clicking of a lock falling back and then a door opening. The ash-brown haired man…uh cat made a run for it. Into the apartment! He stopped in his tracks to get everything in. Analysing your furniture and layout. There was one floor length window that opened up to a small, cozy balcony. A couch in an open space that he guessed was your living room. With a TV mounted to the opposite side of the couch. A lengthy cupboard underneath. On it a few nick-nacks: a charger cable connected to a tablet, a switch console and a bunch of books. The couch itself was decorated with plushies and cushions rounded up with a throw blanket. Some of the walls accented by warm pastel colours to widen the otherwise small space. He peered down one corridor and made out two doors. Guessing one of them was a bathroom and the other your own. 

Caleb inspected your walls. The one on the far end and left of the couch was more bookshelf than wall. Filled up almost to the brim but he spotted also there nick-nacks in between. He jumped on the couch arm and continued on another shelf. Slowly getting closer to your kitchen area. Once more he heard you say something. Bla bla not throwing down something. He had half a mind to fuck with you, but again not the opportunity to bite the hand that feeds him. Curious what you meant in the first place he looked back and felt the vase against his body. God it was so weird to see his fluffy legs and a tail too. Dirt clung to the fur and he wondered what he did before he regained his consciousness in that dumpster. But better not test what it would take to make you throw him out back on the street. For all he could know, you could be the one with answers. If not, he could still leave. 

Rustling and then a dull thumb. Caleb once more looked back. You all but collapsed on your couch and let out a sigh. Tiredness was written all over your face. Your body practically radiated exhaustion. The ash-brown cat didn’t notice before but how could he? Way too immersed in his own problems. Nonetheless were you kind enough to pick him up. Brave enough to go into that spooky alley. Hell, he wouldn’t have. Not without a gun at least. You also were nice enough to carry him here. Not once complaining. If he dares to say, happy to have him with you. Just as warm as he was. Disregarding that he smelled like the trash he lay in.

Suddenly you moved, like you just remembered something important. As if possessed you scrambled up and reached for your tablet. Okay? 

Back to discovering your place he left you to your own devices. 

Noises sprung from your tablet. An interesting melody and a woman singing. Just what were you doing? Playing a game? Well, he was done looking at your kitchen that was, well what could be interesting about a kitchen? It was a kitchen. Jumping from the counter to your table and back on the ground he tapped over to you. One last jump on the couch right next to you. What he saw next made his breath hitch. 

There she was. His childhood friend. On the screen…with another guy? Did you just took pictures of her with another man? Who was he? Some dude with white hair and a pose slung around his childhood friend. They looked happy together. Frozen in time for the picture. What is going on? Did you know her? How could you do this? How- what? How did you take pictures of her? Switching her poses like that? But why did it look so much like a game? Like a 3D rendering of her? What was going on? 

But as soon as he needed to process what he saw, your fingers deftly moved over the screen and collected some rewards in an…event? What? Huh? 

“Is it a new bug? Why can’t I select Caleb?”, you mumbled to yourself. Completely oblivious to the distress ball that he was right now. To your own confusion you couldn’t do anything with Caleb in your game besides recalling the memories you have obtained of him. 

The head of just mentioned man reared. What was happening? Did you know him? What was this game? Who are you? What is happening?! 

Enough, he jumped on your tablet. 

“What the- ey!”, you exclaimed and he just meowed back. That's what he wanted to yell right now. What was going on?! Answer him! 

“You can’t just- get off!”, you giggled. Not taking his jumbling, confusing emotions and obvious distress seriously. 

Okay, different approach. He quickly needed a different approach. Before he could come up with anything you picked him up once more and placed him beside you. Damn him right now for being nothing but an eight pound raging ball of fur. Take him seriously, god damn it! Caleb began to meow again and cursed inside his thoughts. One paw on your tablet, but you giggled again. 

“What is it? You also want to play?”, you smiled at him, picked him up. Again. Woman, do it one more time and he is going to forget his rational part about him and would really bite you. He needed answers and not pats. Oh- okay. You placed him on your lap. The tablet on your knees so he could have a good view of it. 

“Should I explain it to you?”, you continued on and began showing him everything the game had to offer. Beginning with talking with four different men, battling wanderers in bounty hunting or abyssal chaos up to the “main story”, as you called it, until the memories you collected of said four men. Him included as the fifth. What? Without thinking he raised his paw on “falling for you” and selecting himself. Not half a fuck given that he gave himself away, that he was, in fact, not a cat. That's the whole point though, wasn't it? He was a man! Not a damn cat! He was stuck here. God knows where and you! You just playing with her life, with his! With his life like it was a game?! 

These were…all his, well some of them anyway, memories he had with MC. The childhood friend he tried to protect at all costs. Given that his methods weren’t always as pure as he wanted them to be but more often than not necessary. All splayed out for your eyes to see and…rekindle them? Watch them over and over? Relive them?

“Do you like him?”, you asked in a soft voice and he turned to look at you. Totally not caring that he, a cat, was patting on your tablet with human like intelligence. Were you that tired? Half asleep already? 

Like him? He was him! How could he tell you that? So that you would explain further. Maybe he could figure out this way how he got here. Wrecking his brain he tried to come up with anything. Fuck it. Fucking dip this cat shit. Even more so than he already has. How blaringly obvious did he need to be? For your rather slow mind to comprehend what he means. 

Trying to figure out how to show you, tell you or rather scream at you that this 3D rendering of him was he, he put a paw on his image and then on his furry body. As well as he could at least. Which in result was him patting his image then getting up, sitting on his hind legs and putting his paw on his torso area. Caleb begged to the skies above that you understood his message but to his dismay you looked at him puzzled. Oh his fucking gods…

Alright. Different approach. This was taking all of his patience and he barely had none. 

Once more he put one paw on his image that beneath showed a short video out of the perspective of what he only could guess was MC. He didn’t want to think too long about it. Focus. Again he raised his other paw and put it on his chest. This time though he meowed and looked at you imploringly. Please, please let this be enough so you put two and two together. But even he realised that this was rather far-fetched and if this same thing would happen to him, neither would he understand what a cat would try to tell him. 

“What is it? Why-”, and then you looked at the screen that froze over the memory. “Hm?”

Oh my god, did you understand? Please! 

You looked past his small frame and he could see the thoughts behind your eyes. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, he was Caleb! Come on. Give him answers!

“Nah”, you giggled. Not knowing what you might have said he just nodded with his head. 

“His name is Caleb, should I call you that as well?”, you thought out loud and stroked down from his head to his back. 

No! Yes, his name was Caleb but no! God fucking damn it. Just how was he supposed to tell you that Caleb was well- him. He was Caleb. The same man, now a cat in this universe, that you saw on that screen. Distraught, he wrecked his brain. Unfortunate for him there was no book or briefing or training he could have done to prepare him for playing charades as a cat. “How weird would it be if I named you after a otome game video character?”, you sighed. “God, I must be very lonely to even be considering that.” Maybe, but not the point here, woman. You could question your terrible life choices another time but right now, he needed you to figure out his image riddle!

~~~*~~~*.~~~*~~~*~~~*.~~~*~~~*~~~*.~~~*~~~*~~~*.~~~*~~~*~~~*.~~~*

Henlo, to everybody that made it all the way down here! I plan on making this a multi part story, so stay tunned! If anybody has some cat involved stuff and want to see it here, don't be too shy to tell me about it <3

Thank you for reading, beautiful soul

[scoupsakakitty]

Hi!! Could you please write like woozi x sister of another seventeen member like she is older to her brother so she is his noona but she is the same age of woozi, her brother could be from the maknae line like starts from 1997 to 1999 so yeah I don't if you can understand that lol 😭😭😭😭 maybe they're together since pre debut but their relationship became public just recently something like that hehehe THANK YOU!!!

The Secret Between Us | idol!Woozi x Reader | angst, fluff

Y/N had always been able to read Woozi like an open book. It was one of the things she loved most about him his honesty, his vulnerability, his openness. But lately, that openness had been replaced with a quiet distance that Y/N couldn’t ignore.

It had been a couple of weeks since their relationship had been made public, and the weight of the spotlight was clearly starting to affect him. She could see it in the way he would retreat into himself, his smile not quite reaching his eyes, the way his usual calm composure seemed slightly off. Tonight, after another long rehearsal, everyone was winding down, but Woozi wasn’t with the group. Y/N noticed he had slipped out of the room, retreating to a quieter corner.

She stood up and walked toward him, her heart beating faster with each step. She didn’t want to invade his space, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“Woozi?” she called softly as she approached him.

He didn’t look up right away. His eyes were focused on the floor, his fingers tapping nervously against his knee. “I’m fine,” he replied, his voice not quite matching his words.

Y/N frowned, sitting down next to him. “No, you’re not. What’s going on?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. For a moment, it seemed like he was trying to find the right words, but when he spoke, his voice was low and full of hesitation. “It’s all happening too fast, Y/N. The fans, the attention... everything. It feels like there are more eyes on me now than ever before. And it’s just too much. I... I don’t know how to handle it.”

Y/N’s heart dropped. She’d known the public eye was hard on Woozi, but she hadn’t realized how much it was affecting him. “Are you saying... are you saying you want to end things?” Her voice was shaky with panic, her mind racing with the worst possible outcome. “Is that what you mean?”

Woozi’s head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. “What? No!” he exclaimed, looking horrified at the very thought. “How could you think that? I would never—”

Y/N cut him off, her breath coming faster now. “But you’re pulling away from me, and now you’re saying everything’s moving too fast. I don’t know what to think, Woozi. If you’re saying you can’t do this anymore, if you don’t want to be with me—”

“No, no, no,” Woozi interrupted, reaching for her hand, his touch warm but trembling slightly. “I’m not saying that. I could never say that. It’s not about you, it’s about everything else. The public, the media... I just... I don’t want you to be in the spotlight like this. You’re becoming a target, Y/N. And I can’t protect you from it.”

Y/N blinked, still not fully understanding what he meant. “What do you mean? I don’t... I don’t want to be kept in the shadows, Woozi. I want to be with you. I want to be by your side. But if you’re asking me to step back because you’re worried about the attention... I can’t do that.”

“I’m not asking you to step back from me,” Woozi said, his voice softer now. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want people to treat you like some... trophy or prize. I can handle the pressure, Y/N, but I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you because of me. You deserve better than to be in the center of all this chaos.”

Y/N took a deep breath, processing what he was saying. “So... you’re not asking for space from me. You’re just asking me to protect myself from the world, to not put myself out there as much?”

“Exactly,” Woozi said, his shoulders sagging in relief as he looked at her. “I don’t want you to have to deal with the kind of pressure I’m facing. It’s not fair to you.”

Y/N sat back, her heart still racing, but her thoughts starting to calm. She understood now. It wasn’t about their relationship or Woozi pulling away from her—it was about his desire to protect her, to shield her from the harshness of their world. It wasn’t an easy request, but it made sense.

“You don’t have to carry this alone, Woozi,” Y/N said softly, her hand still resting in his. “But I get it. I understand why you’re worried. And if this is what it takes to make things easier for both of us, then I’m okay with it. I’ll step back a little. I don’t want you to feel like you have to protect me all the time. We can still be together, but we don’t have to flaunt it for the whole world to see.”

Woozi’s eyes softened, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Thank you,” he said quietly, his voice filled with gratitude. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Y/N leaned in, resting her forehead against his. “I just want you to be happy, Woozi. And I want to be there for you, no matter what.”

They sat in silence for a moment, just holding onto each other, the weight of the conversation slowly lifting as they both processed what had just been said. For the first time in days, Y/N felt like they were on the same page again, like they were truly understanding each other.

The next few days passed in a blur. Woozi and Y/N continued to spend time together, but they kept a low profile, avoiding too much public attention. They made small changes to their routine, intentionally staying away from places where they might be recognized or photographed. It wasn’t about hiding—they weren’t ashamed of their relationship—but it was about reducing the noise, making things a little more private.

Mingyu, of course, had his own opinions about it. He’d noticed the change in Y/N and Woozi’s behavior, and he wasn’t shy about teasing them.

“So, you two are playing the ��low-key’ card now, huh?” he said one day, leaning against the doorframe of their practice room. “You’re not fooling anyone. You’re still obviously together.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “We’re just... being careful, okay?”

Mingyu raised an eyebrow. “Careful, huh? Well, I guess if you want to keep Woozi safe from all the craziness, that’s your choice.” He paused for a moment, then added with a grin, “But you know, I think it’s a little suspicious that every time we see you two, you’re looking like you just walked out of a romance movie. Like, the way you look at each other... it’s honestly sickening.”

Woozi shot him a glare, though it was softened by the small smile tugging at his lips. “You really need to stop being so dramatic, Mingyu.”

Y/N laughed, feeling a sense of lightness she hadn’t in days. Even though they were still under the public’s watchful eye, they were finding their balance, adjusting to the new reality together. They weren’t hiding; they were just protecting what mattered most to them.

[hazydoe]

Farmer's Daughter

Warning +18 only age-gap,Explicit sexual relations, explicit language,dynamic power

Note:English is not my first language so I apologize in advance if I make any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Many thanks to everyone who read the first chapter of Redemption

The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold. Joel looked toward the farmhouse in the distance. The place seemed peaceful, surrounded by fields of wheat swaying gently in the wind. He took a deep breath and moved forward, feeling the weight of the day on his shoulders. It wasn’t the first time he’d made this kind of delivery, but he never felt comfortable in such open spaces, so far from the noise of the city.

As he approached the main house, a figure appeared on the porch. It was a young woman, no older than twenty, with messy brown hair and hands busy with a large basket of strawberries. She wore a worn-out overall and boots. Her alert eyes locked onto Joel with a mix of curiosity and caution.

“Hello?” she asked, her voice firm but slightly trembling.

“I’m Joel,” he replied, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “I have a delivery for your father. He said he’d be here today.”

The young woman frowned and looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again.

“My father isn’t here. He had to go to the nearest town for supplies. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

Joel nodded slowly, assessing the situation. He didn’t like leaving the delivery with someone other than the intended recipient, but he couldn’t afford to come back another day. He had other matters to attend to, and the trip to the farm had been long.

“I understand,” he said finally. “Can you handle it? It’s important.”

She hesitated for a moment but then nodded with determination.

“Yes, I can. Come in.”

Joel followed her inside the house. The place was modest but cozy, with rustic wooden furniture and open windows. On a nearby table, there was a disassembled rifle, and Joel noticed the young woman casting nervous glances at him. He didn’t blame her. In such an isolated place, distrust was understandable.

“What’s your name?” Joel asked as he set his bag down on the floor.

“Lena,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “And don’t worry, I know how to handle these things. My father has taught me everything I need to know.”

Joel gave a half-smile. There was something about Lena that reminded him of Sarah, his daughter. That mix of innocence and determination that only young people who had grown up in tough environments could have.

“Good,” he said, opening the bag and pulling out a box of tools. “Here you go. Tools and some spare parts for the tractor. Your father and I agreed on an exchange.”

Lena nodded and took the box, placing it carefully on the table. Then she walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a cloth bag.

“Here’s what you agreed on,” she said, handing it to Joel. “Some money and a few preserves we made this summer. I hope it’s enough.”

Joel quickly checked the contents and nodded.

“It’s just what we need. Thanks.”

There was an awkward moment of silence as they looked at each other with curiosity, each assessing the other. Joel noticed Lena’s beauty, her body covered by the fabric of her jeans. Lena noticed Joel’s strong arms, his dark hair, and the marks of age on his face. Finally, Lena broke the ice.

“Are you a mechanic?” she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

“Something like that,” Joel replied, shrugging.

She nodded, as if she understood perfectly.

“I think I’d better go,” Joel said, looking intently at the young girl.

Joel walked down the path leading back to his truck, but something stopped him. He couldn’t explain it, but there was something about Lena that made him stay, something that drew him in beyond the simple transaction. Maybe it was her eyes and the way they looked at him with curiosity and maybe even desire.

Lena was still on the porch, sitting in a rocking chair with one leg resting on the railing, watching him with those eyes that seemed to see right through him. Joel slowly approached, feeling the air between them charged with a tension he couldn’t ignore.

“Do you need something else?” Lena asked, her voice soft but firm.

Joel stopped a few steps away from her, looking directly into her eyes.

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “Maybe I just need a moment.”

Lena studied him for a moment, as if deciding whether to trust him. Then, with a calm movement, she stepped down from the porch and walked toward him. Joel could feel the warmth of her body, the scent of earth and fresh grass that surrounded her.

“My father won’t be back until tomorrow,” Lena said, her voice now barely a whisper.

Joel felt a shiver run down his spine. He wasn’t a man who let his emotions take over easily, but there was something about Lena that made him lose control. Without a second thought, he closed the distance between them and took her by the waist, feeling her tense for a moment before relaxing in his arms.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Joel murmured, though his actions said otherwise.

“Maybe not,” Lena replied, bringing her face closer to his. “But it is.”

Their lips met in a slow but passionate kiss, filled with a need neither of them had admitted until that moment. Joel felt the world around him fade away, leaving only Lena and the warmth radiating from her. His hands explored her back, feeling the tension in her muscles, as she pulled him closer, as if she couldn’t stand the distance between them.

“Joel,” Lena murmured between kisses, her voice trembling but full of desire.

He didn’t respond with words but with actions. He lifted her effortlessly, feeling her wrap around him, and carried her back inside the house. The door closed behind them, and Joel pressed her against the wall, never breaking the contact between their lips. Lena held him tightly, as if afraid he might disappear if she let go.

“This is crazy,” Joel said, though his hands were already unbuttoning Lena’s overalls.

“Don’t worry, I’ve always hoped someone attractive would pass by here,” she replied, sliding her hands under his shirt to feel the warm skin of his back.

Joel couldn’t resist. The need he had been suppressing for years surfaced, and he let Lena guide him to her room, a small space with a bed covered in white sheets. He gently laid her down on the bed, looking at her with an intensity that made Lena hold her breath. His hands explored every inch of her body, feeling her respond to every touch, every caress.

“Joel,” Lena whispered, arching toward him. “Don’t stop.”

He had no intention of doing so. With slow but deliberate movements, Joel undressed her, revealing the soft, warm skin hidden beneath the layers of clothing. Lena looked at him with eyes full of desire, and Joel felt his own body respond to the intensity of her gaze.

“You’re too beautiful,” Joel murmured, lowering his head to trail kisses along her neck and shoulders.

Lena held him tightly, feeling the world around her fade away, leaving only Joel and the warmth radiating from him. Their bodies moved together in a rhythm that felt natural, as if they were destined to meet in that moment.

“Joel,” Lena moaned, burying her hands in his hair. “Don’t leave.”

He didn’t respond with words but with actions. He removed the only piece of clothing she wore under her overalls—a pair of white panties. Joel took a condom from his wallet, creating a small, painful distance between them to put it on his large member. Lena looked down to see it, a small smile of amazement on her face.

“It’s too big for me, Joel,” she said as she kissed him uncontrollably. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll make sure you enjoy it,” he said, positioning himself at her entrance.

He thrust in for the first time, bracing himself against the headboard of the bed. Both were a mess, moaning after the first thrust.

He pulled out completely, catching Lena off guard, and then thrust back in with a strong, painful motion. Lena began to tear up.

Joel pulled away for a moment to give her a break and stimulate her breasts. They were the perfect size, fitting perfectly in his hand. He took one roughly and lazily licked her nipple, looking up at her to see her reaction. She only moaned in response to the pleasure. He lowered his arm and grabbed his member, massaging it against her leg as he realized that, due to their height difference, he couldn’t reach her sweet spot.

Joel realized what she wanted and stopped licking and biting her breasts, leaving them red and marked by him. He helped fulfill her desire by rubbing his member against her clit.

“I knew it from the moment I saw you,” Joel said as he thrust hard into her. “Knew what?” Lena asked, arching like a cat in pleasure. “That you were too needy for cock. Did you think I didn’t notice how innocent you were pretending to be? Daddy’s little girl, what would he think if he found out you slept with an older man?”

“He’d probably be mad because from now on, I won’t be able to be without you.”

Joel continued to move firmly, feeling Lena adjust perfectly to him. His hands gripped her hips tightly, leaving marks on her skin. Lena moaned with each thrust, her nails digging into Joel’s back, drawing red lines he barely felt in his ecstasy.

“What else do you want, Lena?” Joel asked in a hoarse voice, his lips brushing her ear. “Tell me.”

Lena could barely form words, but her eyes begged for more. Joel smiled, satisfied, and changed the angle of his movements, searching for that spot that would make her scream. When he found it, Lena arched her back, a muffled cry escaping her lips.

“Joel!” she screamed, her hands clutching him as if he were her only anchor in a sea of pleasure.

Joel didn’t slow down, feeling his own climax approaching. His hands moved to Lena’s breasts, massaging them firmly, feeling her nipples harden under his fingers. Lena moaned, her body trembling beneath his, each of Joel’s movements bringing her closer and closer to the edge.

“Baby, you’re going to come,” Joel murmured, his words a hot whisper against Lena’s skin. “Let it go.”

And she did. With a muffled cry, Lena let herself be carried away by the wave of pleasure, her body convulsing beneath Joel’s. He held her, feeling his own orgasm hit, filling her with each final thrust.

When they finally stopped, both panting, Joel collapsed beside Lena, pulling her to rest against his chest. Lena curled up against him, her breathing still uneven.

“That was...” Lena began, but Joel interrupted her with a soft kiss.

“You don’t need to say it,” Joel said, stroking her hair. “I know.”

Lena smiled, closing her eyes as she relaxed against him. Joel held her, feeling a strange sense of peace he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Maybe this wouldn’t change anything, but for a moment, it had been perfect.

[je0ng1nn]

SHOW ME WHO YOU ARE (Pt. 2) — Hwang In-Ho

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ PAIRING — Hwang In-Ho x fem!reader

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ INCLUDES — basic Squid game violence, little bit spice, age gap (reader is mid 20‘s In-house is late 40‘s)

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ NOTE — Seriously y‘all, i‘m so so happy that you love my works🤍 i really appreciate all the love.. waking up to over 100 of likes on just a short silly fanfic means a lot to me, i didn’t expect to grow this fast! As a thank you, here’s the second part ! (sorry that this part comes out this late, i have a big blockade 💔)

(PART 1) | (PART 3)

We just voted, it ended up being a tie, which meant there will be another one tomorrow.. I looked up at Young-il, i thought we‘ll finally be able to go home now.. but it wasn’t, i felt myself getting really uneasy. Not only because of the tie, but also because of what happened back in that room. I don’t know how to feel about the whole situation, he killed someone.. to save us? And the kiss too, it got my thinking.. does he like me the way i like him?

We all went back to our normal place to sit as a group, again i sat between Gi-hun and Young-il, like always. I didn’t plan on telling the others, i promised Young-il not to. „Young-il.. Can we talk?“ My head turned to look at him, the others were deep into their conversation.

He was a little surprised at that, but he ended up nodding. We went to my bunk, „What’s up, little one?“ It made my legs weak, he really knew how to make a girl feel good, but i had to focus on this one thing.

„Do you.. love me?“ I asked him, his cold eyes slowly turning softer. „I do, but you’re to you-” I stopped him mid sentence. I expected everything but that. My world broke together, but i couldn’t let this sit on myself, I won’t let go of a guy like this easily, especially not Young-il.

„I‘m not Young,“ I sighed out, he was about to say something but i wasn’t done yet. „I‘m 23, i‘m not a baby, i‘m an adult now. If i want to day a guy that’s twice my age, i will. You aren’t my father are you? I don’t want you to decided on my life like this, please.. Just give one chance! I really like you.“ My voice got a little louder each sentence, but i could care less, it got me angry.

I know, 23 and 49 sounds bad.. but it‘s my life, if i want to date a older guy i can, i‘m old enough, right? Young-il just chuckeled. „What’s so funny?“ I asked, my eyebrows furrow. „You. You’re funny, the way you defended yourself. It‘s cute, but also idiotic.“ His hand went to touching cheek, his thumb slowly caressing my face. „I don’t care if you‘re 30 or even 20. You‘re brave, and you don’t mind saying your opinion. I love the way you kissed me back in that room, it made me feel younger again.“

„I love you more than you could imagine.“

My heart stopped at this. My impulsive thoughts took overhand. I kissed him, not even caring if anyone saw this. Why should they care anyway? Either way, this was the best kiss ever. Full of desire and love, passionate. I let out a gasp and he took the opportunity to push his tongue in my mouth. Our tongues were fighting with each other, Young-il‘s clearly won this fight. After some seconds, we broke the kiss, panting. He leaned down to me, giving my forehead a little peck. „I can’t get enough of you, i hope you know that.“

We were about to kiss again, but suddenly the door opened, out of curiosity i looked in the direction. Players, blood everywhere on them. Player 333 looked like he showered in blood. Young-il noticed my surprised face, he looked into the same direction. „Looks like they killed some people in the bathroom, hm?“ His voice was low, he didn’t seem to like that we got carried away by this sight. He knew i probably wasn’t into anything after seeing this much blood.

And shortly after, the fighting seemed to begin again, both teams attacking each other, arguing about who started everything. Gi-hun called everyone to him from the X team, to see how much players we lost. Young-il groaned at this, i didn’t think much of it and went together with him back to our group.

G-hun started to count us. 47. The other team had 45 which meant we can go home tomorrow after the next voting. I was happy and immediately clung onto Young-il. But the euphoria didn’t last long.

Soon after, Gi-hun had a little ‚meeting‘ with a couple of X players. I sat in between Hyun-ju and Young-il, as we discussed a plan. „They‘re planning to kill us during Lights out.“ Gi-hun said, my body felt numb at that. „What do you mean?“ I asked, just to make sure he wasn’t joking. „They have 2 less than us, they have to kill atleast 3 of us to win the next voting. They‘d do everything to win more money, and killing some of us would bring money too.“ He said, it sounded logical. „Then we should attack first“ Young-il said. I looked at him like he was crazy. I didn’t want to die after all. „No, it would bring unnecessary deaths.. we should pretend like we didn’t know it. When they start attacking, we‘ll hide under the bunks. When the guards come in to stop the game, we will lay down on the floor and act like we were dead, when they check us to identify us, we‘ll grab their guns“

„Are you crazy? They‘d kill us!“ Hyun-ju called out. „It‘s the only way to stop these games.. We have to stop the frontman.“ Young-il tensed up, i shrugged it off, maybe he was just scared. „But they‘d easily overpower us, they‘re probably twice as much as we are.“ Young-il spoke up. „And after all, the other players would be suspicious if everyone of us hid under the beds.“ He continued.

„Not all of us will hide, only the ones that are here,“. Gi-hun said, I quickly looked up at him, in disbelief „So we‘re gonna leave people to die? Just so we‘re gonna end up in a bigger risk of dying?“ Young-il‘s hand went on my thigh, going up and down in a slow pace. He tried to reassure me. „Sometimes it’s important to have some victims to save everyone else.“

I sighed, „Trust me on this guys, two of us will watch out, as soon as we see movement, we‘ll quickly tell you all and all of you‘ll go hide under one of the bunks.“ Everyone agreed to Gi-huns plan. I just did because Young-il did. I didn’t flex right about this whole situation.

2 Minutes until lights out. I went to my bed, all of us choose the ones at the bottom, so we could hide quicker. Young-il‘s bed was almost next to mine. The 2 minutes went by fast, i tried to fall asleep, but i couldn’t. My mind kept me awake all the time.. I don’t want to die. Gi-hun and Jung-bae were patrolling. I felt unsure about all of this, so i went to Young-il..

I whispered as i lightly touched him, „Young-il..?“ He turned to me, his eyes were sharp, but softened when he realized it was me. „Baby? what are you doing here?“ He asked, he pulled me down to sit next to him. He started to caress my hair.

„I‘m scared.. can i stay with you?“

So… I decided i‘ll make a THIRD part, because i currently have a blockade for this story, and instead of letting y‘all wait for the second part i‘ll just make a mini-series out of it🤍 I hope y‘all enjoyed it!! (thanks again for the support y‘all omg)

TAG LIST: @slovesyouuu @squidgame-lover001

[evilbookworm]

“Mike loves El”— At this point I’ve seen so many people in your asks give very good detailed reasonings disproving that. If Milkvan’s still want to go on and on about Mike’s love for El than so be it. Bet on a losing horse. What I want to get to the bottom of is: Why does El love Mike? What has Mike done for El to make her love him?

With a couple like Jonathan and Nancy we can clearly see the love and understanding and support from both sides They are a pair. A team. They communicate well and they apologize and own up to their mistakes when they are wrong. They were so good together in season 1 that it made people root for them really hard to get together in season 2.

El tells Mike she loves him after a season where their relationship was at its absolute worst. I can’t see why she could possibly love him. All they do is awkwardly make out and have cute/silly surface level moments together. They don’t have deep meaningful conversations like every other canon couple. They don’t see eye-to-eye. They don’t share in each others interests. I definitely don’t see a viable reason for her to like him (in season 3) let alone love him. Where is the love? When did it happen? What did El see that I missed? Did she love him when, right after their break up, he comfortably lounged on the couch and shoved handfuls of chips in his mouth? Or was it when he called her a “species” and complained to Lucas about her? Is it when he got super paranoid and was convinced that El and Max were conspiring against him? Or maybe it was when instead of actually apologizing and resolving their issues he just made a silly little quip about M&M’s to her? Maybe that did it.

On the other side of things it’s very easy to see why Will loves Mike. Mike is attentive to Will like no other. He treats him like an equal. They have very meaningful conversations. They have shared interests. Mike makes Will feel supported and comforted and makes sure his thoughts and feelings are validated. Anyone who has watched season 2 can clearly see that. They have a very good relationship. They trust each other on a different level. They see each other as a team. They are a pair.

“If we’re both going crazy maybe we can go crazy together?”

Every season since season 2 Mike and Will have been together right by each others sides throughout everything. Whereas El has been removed from Mike and the group for huge chunks of time season after season, sometimes the entire season, to go on some self discovery journey that allows her to come into her own and grow more as a person—away from Mike. Each season they grow farther and farther apart.

Do Mike and El care about each other deeply? Yes! Of course! El was a traumatized kid who knew nothing but negativity. She was seen as a weapon; not a child. No one showed her love or safety. Then she found Mike and he cared for her like no one else had. He was the first to show her kindness and friendship. Mike was a bullied kid with a lot of insecurities who went through a traumatizing situation.

Both of them want to be loved. To be accepted for who they are. They both fell for what they thought was love without knowing what it should look like. It’s not love—not in that way.

Yes. Literally yes. I have so many bylers coming into my ask box making detailed, correct analyses of Mike and Will’s relationship, then I have the milkvans come in with one sentence answers like, “he remembered here bennys burgers t shirt!!”…do they even hear how stupid they sound?

And you’re soooo right. El doesn’t love Mike romantically either. She also has sort of idolized him, (the shrine in her bedroom in season 4) and it seems both of them don’t see each other as equals, but above each other. I see this stated all the time with Mike, but never with El. I think it’s a really important detail that contributes to why mileven doesn’t work.

Jancy is a perfectly healthy couple, supportive and open with each other. Even in season 4, we see their conflict resolved at the end with their talk. We don’t have that with El and Mike. Why? If Mike and El are such a good couple, why wouldn’t they parallel jancy? There is a pair of “friends” who do parallel them though, aren’t there? Mike and Will.

Yup, yup, yup. El doesn’t have many reasons to love Mike romantically either. They just don’t work. All of season 3 is a complete, awkward mess like you said. Mike is a bit of an asshole the middle half of the season. And, (please don’t kill me for this) El also doesn’t respect Mike’s boundaries. She spys on him and doesn’t apologize either. They’re both in the wrong. They both don’t love each other like that. Season 3 is really a complete mess of their unhealthy relationship.

Accurate. Will’s Mike is easy for Will to love, because Mike isn’t pretending anymore. He’s being his true self. When they fight, Mike apologizes immediately. They’ve probably had the most heart to hearts out of any other couple. Certainly more than mileven. The entirety of season 2 was Mike loving and helping Will through everything, even when he was possessed. That’s why it’s so easy for Will to love Mike. His Mike is a different one than El has.

You’re so right, anon. El has been shown to grow more independent through out the seasons. Season 2 has her fighting alongside Kali and realizing the full extent of her powers, season 3 has her discovering herself as a person, and season 4 has her discovering her past. And eventually saving Max. Meanwhile Mike and Will have been by each others sides since always. Because they’re Mike and Will.

And yes, Mike and El do love each other! I believe it is completely platonic though, because neither of them have the capability of loving each other the way they want to be loved. But I believe they will stay good friends after their break up, and perhaps even become closer because of it. They are kind of bonded, in a platonic way, but I don’t think it was ever meant to go beyond that.

And yes, both of them loved because they were almost, well, pressured to. Nancy and Lucas with Mike, and El’s complete unawareness of dating lead them both straight into a fake love. They fell in love with the idea of each other, I think. Even idolization, like I said earlier. They don’t love each other how they want to be loved.

[iaminfourthwing]

The Generals Daughter

A/N: Finally a new chapter! Tell me, what you think about it 🐉👀

Chapter XVII

The rest of Threshing is just a blur of celebrations and getting our dragon relics. Mine is spread over my right side to the middle of my back. It’s really fucking huge. And absolutely gorgeous.

After dinner everyone is celebrating. Well, not everyone. The unbonded cadets are nowhere to be seen, probably planning on how to kill us freshly bonded to get a dragon after all. My bet is, Violet will be one of the prominent targets, as everyone seeing her still as the weakest link. Even though she has bonded two dragons AND is tethered to Xaden fucking Riorson. 

I got myself a drink and now I am on my way to find a place where no one is bothering me. Today drained the fuck outta me and my muscles ache. Killing people is not easy, but killing people who deserve it, is.

In a deserted corridor towards the dormitories I find a place on a stone ledge with a view over Basgiath.

If someone had told me before my first year here that I would bond a dragon, I wouldn't have been so sure. And now I have Innea.

‚One can almost hear your enthusiasm' she replies sarcastically.

'I'm more than happy that you chose me. I'm just glad that Barlow’s words didn't turn out to be true.' They still haunt me.

'What do you mean? Barlowe... is that the rider of Baide?' She asks. Baide? Why does that name sounds familiar?

'Uh, I don't know. Baide? I think Violet mentioned something about an orange dragon. To answer your first question, he said some time ago that my father or Codagh would make sure that I didn't return from Threshing without a dragon. And those words, well, stuck. I trust my abilities, but I don't trust my father. And certainly not the black beast.'

'Don't worry about that. I saw you at presentation and knew immediately that you would be my rider. I know that you felt me ​​in your mind. Neither Codagh nor his rider had anything to do with it, I chose you because I wanted to, not because I had to. Together we will achieve great things.' She finishes.

I smile. God, I won today with her bonding me. A wave of affection reaches my mind, calming me even more. I already love and appreciate her.

During the conversation with Innea I didn’t realize, that someone took the seat in front of me. 

I am even more startled when my eyes meet those gorgeous one of none other than Bodhi Durran. The shock must be written all over my face because he immediately starts to grin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but you were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't react to my words." I think... this is the first time I've ever heard his voice. And God, it's so deep and smooth, and so much softer than his cousin's.

I shake my head to clear my mind. Difficult, with this dream of a man in front of me. Am I really crushing on a marked one? Father would have a heart attack.

'I'm more likely to gag' echoes in my head.

"I'm sorry, I was a bit... distracted" I say, a little shyly, absolutely in awe of this man in front of me.

„I see. Your dragon?“ I nod.

"Sgaeyl wasn't really happy that your dragon bonded. And Xaden doesn't know what to think about it either." he admits. Oh? I mean, I already knew that Xaden doesn't trust me at all.

"I guess my last name isn't particularly trustworthy either. And my lineage." I grin.

I can completely understand why they're so unsure of me. But it's not like I'm going to run to my father and spill the beans, like he actually wants me to. That's not going to happen.

"It's... difficult. I admit that. But so far you haven't given anyone of our wing a reason to dislike you. Quite the opposite. What I've observed says anything but that. You help your squad and even beyond that, you help your wing. With history, battle brief, sparring, everything. And we've all seen what the general is capable of, even towards his own flesh and blood." He grimaces. It almost seems as if he is … pitying me. Well, I don't need that.

"I don't need pity. The way my father treats me is nothing new. It's just that he's never shown it in public before. That was actually something new, something I absolutely didn't expect."

I let my gaze wander over Basgiath. From here you have a clear view of the Parapet. Meanwhile, I feel his deep gaze on me, which makes me nervous. Damn, why does he have such a strong effect on me?

„I- uhm, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you! I just-" he sighs deep, not knowing how to explain himself.

„We all were really shocked, when we realized the relationship between you and your father. We all had our opinions on you without even knowing you, I admit that. But after that evening, with, you know, the injury on your neck, and now the scene on the flightfield... I apologize on behalf of all of us marked ones. We find it difficult to see this whole thing objectively. All of us are just trying to survive, which is hard as it is, but coming here without prejudice was practically impossible. We know what our parents and siblings fought and died for, so it’s not really easy. Some of us are still blinded by the anger and pain left behind by the loss of our loved ones. We try, especially for our squad and wing, but many of us struggle really hard with the emotions. Especially because people like Imogen, for example, are only guided by the pain. She tries, but with an Aetos, a Sorrengail and... well, a Melgren in the squad, it is three times as difficult." He takes a deep breath, clearly effected by his own words.

I am oddly touched by his little speech. I understand how hard it must be for them, I definitely don’t blame them. Their pain and anger is something I can relate to, even though on a different base. We all lost something in the past. 

"Thank you for your words. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you here in Basgiath. You can feel the hatred of some of the other cadets and riders, but believe me... I'm one of the last people to judge someone for their past. And if we're being completely honest..." I look around to make sure we're alone. "I don't trust the history the way it's told. I have my doubts about various things. And I certainly don't trust my father, nor some other people. But other than that I can assure you that as long as no one gives me reasons, I will treat you with the same respect that I expect from y’all. We can all learn from and help each other, because at the end of the day we're all just trying to survive. I'm glad I ended up in Fourth Wing, because I much prefer Xaden as wing leader than someone like Amber Mavis." We both have to laugh.

The whole thing must give an awkward picture. A marked one and the daughter of the most feared general on the continent sitting together and laughing. We should hate each other, from the bottom of our hearts. But that's not how I see him at all. He seems to be someone who thinks a lot, rather than feeling direct dislike. And I'm grateful for that. He could have used my mental absence earlier, when I was talking to Innea, to kill me. Or knock me out. But he didn't. That's a start, isn't it?

"Yes, that's true, I also prefer Xaden much more, and that has nothing to do with the fact that we are family. I'm glad that I'm in the same wing as my closest friends, it makes things a lot easier. And who knows what friendships could develop," he says, looking deep into my eyes. Oh God, don't embarrass yourself now...

'He's not that wrong. I'm curious to see if you two will stay friends. Your thoughts say otherwise, you're really smitten with Cuirs rider.' I start to blush while looking shyly at him, trying to ignore Inneas words.

'What else could come of it other than friendship? He would never find a Melgren interesting.' I deny her words, for my own sanity.

'I'm not so sure about that,' she replies, chuckling deep.

I pull a face, confusion taking me over and Bodhi also seems to be communicating with his dragon.

'What are you talking about? I'm lost.' What the hell is she suggesting? Why shouldn't we just be friends? 

Bodhi’s head whips in my direction, shock and something else in his eyes as they find mine.

'Cuir and I are mates.'

WHAT?!

Taglist: @puttyly @lxnvmvrzx @freyagallileaevans @aroacemushroom @dragonsandrinks @mariahoedt @read-write-sleep-startover

[atsadi-shenanigans]

FSBE 13 - Gods Ain't Shit

You learn some things.

On AO3.

“Oh my gods!” Karlach all but squeals. “The Jaheira! Like, the actual Jaheira!”

Good news: y’all found the harper hideout.

Bad news: they almost shot you’uns.

Thank fuck for Wyll and his buckets of charm. He’d been out front as an older lady came out to meet y’all. So he’d been the first up when the old lady pulled a Poison Ivy and lifted vines outta the ground to grab y’all. He was able to stall her long enough for one of the druid grove tiefling kids to run out and recognize y’all.

“Who’s Jaheira?” you say as Astarion fusses and pinches bits of vine out of his armor.

“You never heard of Jaheira?” Karlach says. Girl ain’t modulating her voice down at all. Couple of people look over. Then she blinks. “Right. You’re…she’s a hero. A real, proper one. Fought down a Bhaalspawn back in the day…oh. You don’t know about those either. Bhaal is the god of murder, you get me? And he apparently likes sprouting out kids—don’t ask, I don’t want to think about it. But they’re wicked dangerous. Whole ‘god of murder’ as your dad, yeah?”

You blink. “Y’all got a god of murder?”

Hope the what the fuck ain’t showing.

“You don’t?” Karlach says.

So there’s a whole readjustment of everything you ever known. A sharp ache chisels in behind your right eye.

“We don’t got gods,” you say. “Not real ones, anyway.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” Shadowheart says.

Gale already made a beeline over to a woman standing in front of what looks like a ramshackle merchant stall at a ren faire. Wyll is already heading towards the inn, pausing to talk to a group of harpers gathered around a bone-dry fountain.

Lae’zel…she’s just standing there looking bored.

Shit.

You put on your best polite-interest (and not at all judging) face. “Yeah?”

“You’ve said you have no gods several times,” Shadowheart says. Behind her, Karlach makes a yikes face and tiptoes her way outta the conversation. Goddamnit. At least Astarion lingers. “Yet the concept isn’t foreign to you. How is that?”

She’s a cleric. Which means she’s some sort of, what you done put together, a battle nun for her god. Who sounds like a dick. And this one heals y’all.

You really don’t wanna get into it. Astarion knows about your background, and you told Wyll enough he might be suspecting some stuff.

“Some people,” you start. Pause to try to find safe footing. “Some people where I come from do.”

“And you think them, what. False? Liars?”

Fuckshit. She’s way too damn perceptive.

“Ain’t nobody ever seen one. Different civilizations had different pantheons, hundreds of them, and ain’t no physical evidence of any of it being real.”

Shadowheart arches an eyebrow. “So you think your entire people wrong?”

The anger rises hot and fierce like a steam explosion. Pressure spikes up the sides of your neck. You hold your breath a second to keep from saying nothing. Gotta keep calm. Breathe out. Snapping at her ain’t gonna solve shit. Biting somebody’s head off don’t change their mind and usually makes them dig in deeper, like a starving tick.

You ain’t her mama. And though her goddess sounds like she sucks, you ain’t gonna change her mind. She’s a grown ass woman who can make grown ass choices with her grown ass life.

You suck in another deep breath. “I cannot speak for nobody but myself. I don’t know much about y’all’s world; we don’t got magic in mine. But y’all very clearly do. So hell, I might have everything ass backwards. I’m just trying to figure everything out.”

Shadowheart presses her lips thin. Nods once. Don’t seem satisfied, but she don’t seem all huffy, neither. Thus go all shitty compromises.

(Part of you chafes at that, as it always does. You ain’t never been sure if that’s a reflex against your upbringing, or that upbringing manifesting itself into a new variety of self-righteousness. You wonder if you’ll ever know.)

“Do you think they have bathing facilities?” Astarion says. “I, for one, am tired of this filth.”

You should kiss him. But Shadowheart rolls her eyes and disengages, and you don’t want her staring you down any more than she already is.

Gale still talks to the trader or merchant or whoever. Pulls something outta his bag while Karlach pokes around a couple of shields propped against the booth. Lae’zel follows after Shadowheart as the two start across the courtyard. You assume she’s done some Jason Bourne surveying in her head. And Wyll…

Wyll stands at the door of the inn, arm lifted, waving y’all over.

“Oh, what now,” Astarion says.

“Maybe we got rooms?” you say.

“Ugh, I hope so. But with so many vagabonds—”

Who even says that?

“—traipsing about, I doubt they have any room to spare. Still. An honest bed would do wonders.”

He ain’t wrong.

The other people—harpers, you assume—all carry weapons and that light armor. Not metal; maybe leather. Must be more used to ambush attacks than full on assaults. Those kinda tactics tend to work pretty good against armored or heavy ass baggage trains. Ask the French what they thought about the English-allied Cherokee during that war. Before the English fucked over the Cherokees, as they did everybody, eventually.

These guys look fucking tired. Scared. It’s in the way their gazes don’t settle. One man shakes his hand, but when he grips the handle of his spear, fine tremors shiver up and down his fingers.

There’s some kinda low building to the right. A stable, you think. You catch the sound of metal clanging from that way. But then y’all are at the inn doors and ducking into what should be light and warmth. A plush rug and maybe a fish tank. Marble counter tops and a receptionist with a Karen haircut and a shiny name tag.

Instead, wood creaks underfoot and you look deeper into the building to what’s clearly a bar. Several people slump over it. One’s red, another blue. More tieflings.

“Hey, you! You look an enterprising sort!”

A small voice from down low. Tucked up into the corner is a red tiefling kid. He’s scrawny as hell, clothes patched and frayed, and…weirdly familiar.

“Oh no, not this little deviant,” says the biggest deviant you know. To the kid, Astarion says, “You’re lucky we’re not in any civilized place. They tend to punish thieves.”

Right. Kid from the grove. The one hawking stuff while his friend picked your pocket.

You still give Astarion a look. “How’d you get all them pillows outside your tent?”

“Through charm and wit.”

“Aw, it’s you,” the kid whines. “Don’t suppose you got more coin than pocket lint this time?”

“Nope,” you say.

The kid runs a clawed hand through his hair. Mutters something in a raspy language.

“Excuse me?” Astarion says.

The kid blinks, but don’t look any kind of mollified. Just tired. “Move along. If you can’t pay, you’re taking up room for someone who can. Where’s the funny man with the purple robe?”

Gale, who probably just dumped all y’all’s group money on a pile of sausages.

“You can speak his language?” you say to Astarion, still glaring like a kicked cat.

“That wasn’t his language, unless our tiny friend here is very good at shape changing. Though I am curious as to how he might have learned the language of the Abyss.”

“Oh.” The kid smirks. “You get called that enough to recognize it, then?”

Okay, fuck no.

You step between the two. That’s a nice thing about your size. If you wanna make yourself a problem, you are hard as fuck to ignore.

“Y’all made it this far, huh?” you say. And win, when the kid looks away from Astarion to you.

But his face goes eerily blank for a second before he smiles. Or tries to.

And you seen that before. The younger kids on the farmstead looked like that sometimes after a worship session. After a holy cleansing. Because being loud brought the Aunts, and crying brought the other kids, and it was hard sometimes to tell which was worse.

“Some of us,” the kids says. Give a one-shouldered shrug. Acting all cool and unbothered.

Being very, very bothered.

“What happened?” you say. You almost kneel down to his (her?) level, but you’ve cracked their armor now, and calling attention to it like that, reminding them how small they are is just gonna crack that deeper.

“What always happens,” the kid says. “We got attacked. Lost some people. The lucky ones made it here.”

The inn is awfully empty. Some of them tieflings looked ready to fight. Might just be outside with the harpers. Or up in rooms somewhere. But this place—trapped beneath a glowing, silver dome—ain’t that big.

“So are you gonna buy something or not?” the kid says. “Cause my crew is still looking to set up a business once we reach the city, and we need to start a principal.”

It takes a second for that one to translate. Principal, as in…chief? Top? School?

Astarion leans in. “He means an investment fund.”

Right. Sure thing, dirt potion.

“What’cha selling?” you say.

And that pipsqueak gives you the most incredulous once-over you ever did see. “You said you didn’t have any money.”

“I don’t.” You turn. Find Astarion glaring over your shoulder. Give him your most wide-eyed smile. “But he does.”

“Don’t you dare,” he says.

“You heard him. It’s an investment. Wouldn’t hurt to get on the ground floor of a promising new venture, huh?”

The worm in your head shudders. Shivers. Reaches out so you can press into him the ice-cold iron of “not abandoning a traumatized child.”

His worm shies away. His frown twists into a narrow-eyed scowl. And then he lifts up a coin—copper. You look at it. Look at him. Hold that gaze.

He sighs. “Suit yourself. But I expect repayment in full, darling.”

And pulls a gold coin out of thin air to toss at you.

You manage to catch it. Just. Sigh yourself as he pivots and heads over towards Wyll, standing further in.

You thought you was getting into him a little. He’s eased up around you, just a bit. Hasn’t threatened to eat either Scratch or Sweetums in a while. But asking him to show the tiniest sliver of empathy towards anyone but you—and even that’s pushing it—and it’s like trying to get a cat to swallow a pill. A cat who don’t like you all that much.

You press your lips tight as you watch him go. Finally turn back to the kid. Hold up the coin. “Let’s see your wares, huh?”

[blushblushbear]

So my buddy Nova sent me an off site request!

I'm paraphrasing a bit but the gist is 'what if all the boys were yanderes, and real ones unlike Cole'

so like-- real as in not comedic or unskilled enough to not incur bloodshed or a body count

Alright, Let's go! :)

tw: yanderes, no safety wheels

Nimh: the Dere-est of Deres and the Yan-est of Yans. He has the biggest coin flip in terms of his sweet facade. It's not even really a facade, he really is that sweet, but he also is a lot more deadly than you'd think when pushed to his limits. Also a lot more possessive than you'd realize. You don't really notice at first cause he's so kind about it all, so gentle in his guidance. You don't even notice until it's too late that he's gently guided you right into a cage. A lovely, special cage where you're right there for him to watch and love and care for. He'll never let you leave, but why would you ever want to do that dearest? When he can take such good care of you! He's always been good at taking care of things! Like all those little nuisances that were trying to come between you two. But they don't matter now, you have each other! And all this fretting isn't good for his heart, so why don't you snuggle in next to him and let his love warm and comfort you...

Volks: Low key already one aside from the killing thing. (could only really imagine canon Volks killing in self defense) But he's already got the possessiveness, the stalking, the OBSESSION. He's just grown so attached to you! He wants to make sure you're okay... wants to keep you safe... He knows more than anyone how dangerous the world can be, and if anything ever happened to you-- well.... It's better if that didn't happen. He can't let that happen. So he'll just keep a watchful eye, let you shine so bright, just sitting there silently basking in your glory. And if anything rears it's ugly head, he'll take care of it, no matter what...

Kelby: So I almost can't imagine him being a yandere. And I think he can't imagine it either! That is, until you came along. Meeting you, something in him just--- changed.... or maybe more, something in him snapped... he tried to ignore it, tried to play everything cool. And he manages! For the most part... but he finds himself texting you more, checking on you more, following you more, tracking you more... He doesn't need you right there with him every second of every day--- he just needs to know where you are at all times. To make sure you're safe. To make sure you're happy... he's probably one of the slowest to hurt anyone over you, but when push comes to shove, he will do it. And he'll feel bad about it-- but not bad enough that he won't do it again if need be...

Eli: He's like a pretty little glitter trap. All fun and songs and kooky energy! You started as friends and he knew pretty early on that you were his new little obsession. He's had them before-- where he's crushing so hard and low key cyber stalking them lol! But it's just-- different with you. He's used to being jealous sometimes, he DOES like to be the center of attention after all-- but something about you paying attention to other people fills him with a new kind of jealousy he's never felt before. It makes him so mad he could be SICK. He always swoops in and steals your attention back, but just doing that doesn't seem enough anymore. The constant texting while trying to play it cool aren't enough for him now. Cyber stalking turns into actual stalking, and he needs to know where you are every second. Needs all your attention, all your love. All for HIM! He invite you over more often, he still plays it coy, plays it silly, plays it cool-- but the way he watches you when you sleep belies how deep in his is. He knows he's being a mess, knows he's turning into a bit of a monster, but he just can't help it... He wants to keep it playful, but he's not afraid to call in some favors and get dark.

Anon: Plays it the coolest in front of you, is the most freakishly obsessed behind your back. Constantly watching and tracking you. Also constantly keeping tabs on everyone you come into contact with. He's not afraid to burn some lives to the ground at the drop of a hat. Either cause they messed with you or cause they got a little too comfy. He maybe doesn't want you around constantly, but he's constantly going to be watching you. He also uses this info to help win you over more and more. He knows everything about you, and no one, especially not you, can hide form him.

Garret: Some what similar to Nimh but not as extreme either way. Also he's to some degree unaware at how much of a line he's crossing. He stalks you on accident and doesn't think twice about it. He lingers and cares for you and while he's nice and even tempered most of the time, if someone is mean to you even a little they are getting towered over and glared down.

Dmitri: You're not his first ever target of affection, but you're defiantly his most intense. And I feel like he's going to even further lengths over you without necessarily meaning to. Like-- normally he learns every aspect he can about his latest darling so he can woo and win them, but he always plays it cool about it. With you, he is full on loosing his ability to cool. He's so desperately obsessed this time-- IT MUST BE LOVE! Also the jealous he feels, he usually doesn't feel jealous this hard or sometimes even at all (even if his target likes someone else, they will never LOVE them like they WILL love him. He'll make sure of that) but with you, oooo he's feeling the jealousy, and he's not sure what to do about it, but he'll probably do something....

Ichiban: another in the tries to play it cool and low key fails camp. I think he probably publicly laid claim to you before even officially asking you out, and will constantly bring you up in the way of 'oh, MY marshmallow'. makes it very clear no one is to mess with you in anyway and the only time he's not super nice or sweet is when they do. He's normally great with his fans but if someone says even a slightly bad word about you his smile disappears immediately and they are perma-banned from all his platforms. Likes to have you in pics with him or have you on the stream sometimes. Just letting everyone know you're HIS.

William: seems SOOOOO mild mannered, and he is, but he's also deadly serious about you. It's one of those happy loving relationships that seem so perfect on the outside and he's just a wonderful boyfriend/husband. And he is-- to you. But the moment someone even slightly puts you in danger or tries to get too close to you, they just weirdly ghost the world...

Myx: Another dude who publicly makes it known you're his. Constantly dedicating songs to you, calling you his muse or his heart, always having you around in pictures and sometimes even on stage. He's super chill and happy and friendly until something Happens and then he's got security throwing their asses out onto the streets. He'd never lay hands on anyone himself but he knows people and he has security.

Stirling: seems very chill and low key and romantic but it's a trap. He's using his sweet nothings to lure you into his castle. He'll find a way to keep you there, and dispose of anyone and everyone who comes looking for you. You will be his. You will live happily with him. He'll make sure of it.

Scale: STALKING MASTER. Also the king of getting rid of people quietly before you even know that they're a problem. Fully hides the more edgy parts of himself around you. Generally he's just a very sweet, attentive, dorky little edge lord nerd whose trying to make a sweet little life with you. But he's also very deadly in ways he'll never let you know. Things with him are very happy and safe, at least for you.

Sven: Is the most aggressively sunshine and the most insanely touched in the head when the darkness comes out. He seems so sweet and goofy and innocent until you see the blood and his smile as he reassures you he took care of it.

Cole: ya know that thick book, small book meme that's been around?? yeah, there was one time I saw that labeled 'Blush Blush, Blush Blush if Cole had a gun'. Yeah just--- put that meme right here.

Poe: Poe-ssessive! Ba dum psh! But nah, he gets jealous real fast. He shares none of it with you though. He keeps those feelings between him and his poetry-- and the 'little accidents' that can happen at night if he's too far gone. VERY obsessed, lots of poetry all about you littering his living space along with a million photos, only some of which you posed for (the others are taken in secret). Just a weird little obsessive goth kid whose maybe just quietly unhinged a bit.

Cashew: Another one in the you never see it coming camp. He's just such a sweet little awkward boy whose so clearly got it bad. He just seems eager until you stumble upon his room and find all sorts of photos taken from bushes and lists of things you like and places you go and a napkin you used and a bit of your hair--- it's honestly quite the collection. He also has a list of people you talk to regularly and brainstorming notes on how to get rid of them-- all leaning towards bloodless but when push comes to shove he's willing to get dark about it.

Seth: Nightmare man. All the stalking and watching and gifts and curses that make it so if anyone tries to talk to you their teeth start to fall out. He's not afraid to come off at massively scary or creepy and he's not going to take no for an answer. The riddle of how to make you love him is one he doesn't have the answer for yet, but he will.

Reece: It's easy to stalk your beloved when you can literally follow them from birth to death via time travel. He's going to use this to make him a constant presence in your life. See all your best and worst moments, find out all your favorite and least favorite things, just generally studying you-- finding out what makes you tick. You're his favorite subject. And he knows how to keep a watchful eye, just in case...

Logan: Another one in the very chill category, it actually takes him a lot to go full psycho and he's really resistant to anything too dangerous. He's mostly the kind to trap you in a way you don't realize your being trapped. Bury you with sweetness and make you his by just outshining any chance the competition had.

{I feel like I've done the kitsunes before--- I think I have!}

Aki: lil freak who doesn't realize how much of a little freak he's being. WAAAAY too into you, stalks you a bunch, learns all your favorite things, gets very jealous and possessive but plays it off very playful and oh me I'm just a wittle guy! A wittle guy that wuvs you! Wuvs you so much! Don't buy it, he's way more dangerous than he's letting on.

Haru: POSSESSIVE. PETTY. DESPERATE. He fell in love and kinda snapped about it and will go to any number of lengths so you won't leave him. EVER.

Fuyu: Mostly the scary type whenever you're not around or your back is turned. Can maybe be a little demanding with you but generally he goes all sad puppy or melting love struck idiot whenever you're around. VERY VERY VERY PROTECTIVE. Doesn't wish to spill blood again but will in a heartbeat if it's for you. (either to protect you or cause you asked, he's a little desperate to keep you happy I won't lie)

Ace: desperate, nervous, a little bit cracked. Comes off as mostly harmless and awkward and he mostly is. But he's also taking so many pictures of you from the bushes and collecting little things you throw away. I can't honestly see him hurting anyone??? I think if he'd have jealousy or any kind of negative emotion he's more likely to turn it inward?? like--- he just blames himself for not being better and vows to keep trying until he's the best for you. Another desperate to make you happy, he's maybe doormat levels of will do anything for you.

[centrally-unplanned]

I certainly don't think I have the Hot Goss pinned down on this, so I am not super-confident in this to caveat, but anyway:

but I honestly don't see how any sort of durable policy change could be accomplished this way. Anything substantive he could do this way could be rolled back by the next president and presumably would be if it was unpopular

This is imo a sketchy model to project onto politicians - everything they do can be rolled back by the next administration. You can't escape that so it doesn't shape you all that much. And meanwhile "what is popular and unpopular in levels that are relevant" is quite opaque, certainly 4 years away from the election. Most administrations structurally understand that they are going to do some mix of "appeasing the voters" and "pursuing their agenda" and future predictions just aren't gonna be solid on any of it. This is why you see massive attacks on USAID (something with minimal domestic constituencies) but Trump emphasizing no cuts to Medicare. That is the "play" they are making.

From that I think the Trump admin is not only willing to eat some heat from voters for priority goals, I think almost all admins are. Additionally, you don't need much to get "their electoral victory has made the Trump Team overly hubristic when it comes to electoral success and they are drinking their own kool-aid on how polling is useless", that is an error too common to mention.

He could destroy a lot of institutional expertise, but I don't think "wreck the federal civil service" is a likely policy goal for him.

On this I agree in a general sense. He isn't a libertarian after all, Trump generally wants to expand the government. Though I do think there are coalitional things at play where X% of this is some form of "wreck the government/own the libs", but we can set that aside.

Re: the two plans, for the first one that loops back to "what is success", so to tackle the second there is maybe an X% truth here but I am skeptical it is much because like it just isn't gonna work right? Judges don't "get distracted" they have dockets for a reason, Congress is eye-rolling a lot of this right now, and Trump is getting dinged in the polls over this stuff. It is just a lot of work for a purely symbolic branding exercise that doesn't have a lot of payoff.

So I think that loops back to the first one, where "success" is not some mythical reductions in waste spending to close the deficit. That is obvious fiction and I do not believe enough of the admin is that stupid. I also don't think that federal staffing levels will move that much, because these guys again aren't libertarians and don't want a smaller government and seem to be putting very little work into actual mass-scale deregulatory measures (ofc you will get the typical Republican shifts). Particularly once you use the real numbers of federal staffers that includes all the contractors, because at this point the federal government outsources half of its workload and a government job doesn't mythically go away because a private company is signing the W-2's.

Instead my current working model is that this is just a good old-fashioned purge? If you get a ton of federal workers to quit or fire them, you can replace them with your own people. That is why they are trying to make as many jobs political appointees as possible, and get people "out the door" very quickly consensually (a court can't compel someone to take a job after all), and all that. They want it for a lot of reasons - corruption, for one - but a big one is that they do actually believe all that Deep State stuff, because when you strip away the emotional baggage "the federal workforce is hostile to the goals of the Trump Admin and the wider New Right" is completely true. I won't go deeper on this sort of "democratic vs technocratic government" topic here, but this seems like a perfectly coherent goal - reshape the permanent civil service and replace it with political appointees, aligned contractors, and a new crop of core servants on your team.

And it is a goal that courts will interfere with, if they were more aligned they absolutely would be able to reshape it more!

Since the courts are pretty much the only avenue of relevance in the current battle over executive expansion given that Republicans control Congress and don't seem to care all that much about it (they are chipping away at their pet issues ofc), I do think it is a little ironic that the Republican judicial strategy is something Trump 1.0 had the least input on. He really didn't care, best I can tell whatever justices the hardline Republicans put in front of him he said "great" and signed off on them. There was not, in fact, an attempt to put "lackeys" on the bench, and the Trump Triple are on average actually more independent than Alito or Thomas.

Which was a pretty unforced error! Like so many "norms", the idea that Republicans would have somehow balked at voting in underqualified partisans is a figment of the median voter's imagination; if the admin went to the mat on this Congress would have probably folded at least partially. And meanwhile the entire MO for the Trump administration 2.0 is depending quite heavily on how legal cases come out. They won't be the be-all-end-all of things ofc, but right now "they are probably going to lose most of these cases" is the biggest barrier their approach is facing. And the same guy probably could have flipped that outcome if he had thought about it.

[montrasity]

These days I've been looking a bit more into the books for mere boredom and I couldn't help but think: We basically have almost less than nothing regarding Mulciber or his general dynamic in canon with Severus so I was wondering your take on it. If you were to write something completely and utterly based on canon where do you think Mulciber ended up? Or what would his dynamic with Severus be, considering his role in the war?

(sorry if I phrased this wrong,I hope you understood what I was trying to say. English is not my first language but I tried anyways lol)

Yeah, I get what you’re saying, and I think you phrased it well!

So, from what we do know about Mulciber in canon, it’s clear he has a temper—Lily specifically calls him out for trying to hex Mary Macdonald (though the way she says in implies he didn’t actually, only attempted to) in a way she found “cruel.” That, to me, suggests he’s probably a bit mean streak. But beyond that, we don’t actually hear much about his personality, which makes me think he might have been more of a nonchalant type in school, the kind of person who didn’t need to be loud or overtly cruel to be intimidating—maybe not as loud or showy as someone like Avery, but still part of that crowd. Maybe he was the kind of guy who just had a presence that made people uneasy.

What’s interesting is that the books never clarify whether it was Mulciber Sr. or Jr. who became a Death Eater. During the First War, we hear about Mulciber Jr. as one of Snape’s friends, but in the Second War, only Mulciber Sr. is ever mentioned as a known Death Eater. The fact that Mulciber Jr. isn’t brought up at all in the trials of the First War makes me think he never actually fought in the war—he probably just left. Maybe he fled the country before things got too bad, which, honestly, would be a pretty rational move. He seems like the kind of person who wouldn’t want to die for someone else’s cause, good or bad.

As for his dynamic with Severus, I think Mulciber probably did try to convince him to leave, at least once. If they were close in school, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want Severus getting caught up in something so dangerous, especially over some misplaced sense of guilt. But Severus has that deep, almost self-destructive loyalty—his whole arc revolves around making up for his mistakes, especially with Lily. So even if Mulciber tried to pull him away, Severus wouldn’t have gone. And that would probably be the breaking point between them—Mulciber realizing that no matter what, Severus was too tangled up in everything to just walk away.

[princesshair]

it's mostly daisy who keeps babygate alive but i read lottie's book and she mentioned freddie by name when it really wasn't necessary to mention him at all - she talked about fizzy passing, how louis was away on tour while she was struggling and how he couldn't be home a lot because he had work responsibilities "and he had to be in LA for his little boy freddie"... pisses me off how lottie mentions him whenever she wants to sell a product of hers but even more so that she did it during fizzy's chapter! and that she mentions louis and freddie but also rants about fans and press bringing up louis when she wants them to focus on her achievements, like you can't have it both ways love

I mean I'm not saying Lottie doesn't ever do that, of course she does and that's why she put this bit about f there, the twins are the most responsible for it, if you say Daisy I'll believe bc I can never remember who did what lol and I agree with everything you said that's for sure. It's just that I saw some people saying on that part Lottie said Lucky was Jay's first grandson was on purpose for people to talk about that and then they can bring bbg back on the table and I honestly don't think it was that. I just think it was an honest "mistake" as in she truly forgot Lucky was not supposed to be the first bc o f bc the reality is that Lucky is the first and it just got overlooked somehow....

[vaguely-concerned]

just going about my day idly contemplating how some of the ways hawke can interact with a romanced anders are not at all unlike how they interact with leandra (and a bit of carver too, especially with a purple hawke), and then thought about my hawke in the timeline where he romances anders and was hit straight in the face with 'was he ever actually in love, or was he just desperately trying to renegotiate with his mother's ghost in any way he could' and now i need to lie down. this is the power of dragon age 2

[melodyplucked]

he almost laughs at her comment about the other's 'dumb ponytail', but this is serious, so he refrains.    ❝    i can name the people i've hooked up with on one hand nini, and she's definitely not one of them... but i do know who you mean now... i think.    ❞    he pauses, trying to figure out how to express all this.    ❝    i'm sure there was a party that night, but nini i wasn't even there. and i definitely wasn't with her. no clue why she would say that- seriously, but... i guess all i can tell you is that it didn't happen. there was a lot bigger shit going down than some stupid party.    ❞    ricky frowns at her words.    ❝    nini- please just stop that. you were everything i wanted. i swear to god.    ❞    there's no part of him that cared about all that other attention she's talking about...

    ❝    i was never upset with you. or at you. or any of that. i didn't answer the phone, and i didn't call you until later, because i was dealing with the fact that my mom abandoned us nini... and i didn't know what the fuck to do...    ❞    the words break him, and the broken voice is a heavy weight that seems to drop as they come out. they were only sixteen... what was he supposed to do? how do you cope with something like that. it's not like his dad wanted to talk about it. it wasn't like he was handling it well... it's been two years and it still hurts.    ❝    i'm so sorry, nini... i really am. it was never, ever about you. it was just- what do i do... what do i say... how do i do well- anything? god...    ❞    he takes a deep breath.    ❝    i love you- i loved you then and i love you now, so damn much. i didn't want to drag you into my shit.    ❞    

❝     sadie!     blonde!     always     has     that     dumb     ponytail!     sadie!     ❞     she's     not     sure     she's     actually     giving     him     any     information     to     work     with,     but     she     can't     help     it.     she     hates     talking     about     the     girl;     hates     thinking     about     her.     ❝     what     do     you     mean     you     didn't     hook     up     with     her?     she     was     bragging     about     it     in     the     locker     room     the     monday     after     we     got     back!     she     was     talking     about     the     night     you     didn't     answer     my     call,     when     we     got     home!     ❞     she     says,     trying     to     rein     in     how     explosive     her     words     feel.     ❝     i     get     it.     skate     god.     girls     falling     all     over     you.     it's     fine     if     i     wasn't     what     you     were     looking     for.     ❞     she     says,     shrugging     her     shoulders.     she's     had     to     tell     herself     that     very     same     thing     for     two     years     now,     hoping     one     day     she     might     actually     believe     it.     

❝     then     why     would     she     say     that?     and     you     weren't     answering...     you     were     just...     upset?     and     not     at     me?     i've     thought     the     worst     for     so     long...     ❞     she     sighs,     shaking     her     head.     ❝     you     can't     say     you're     unlovable     when     i     love     you     so     much     that     it     broke     me     in     half     thinking     i     didn't     mean     anything     to     you     after     all.     ❞     words     come     out     softly,     as     though     she     knows     it's     going     to     shatter     the     resistance     she's     worked     so     hard     to     build     against     him.     ❝     i     do     deserve     the     truth,     you're     right.     but     you     deserve     to     not     carry     that     alone,     too.     ❞     she     tells     him,     reaching     forward     to     take     his     hand     in     hers.     she     couldn't     not     feel     awful     for     him.     no     matter     what     had     gone     down     between     them,     it     was     heartbreaking     to     know     he'd     carried     this     pain     for     two     years.     that     he     loved     her,     too,     and     felt     like     he     couldn't     come     to     her.     she     hated     where     they     were     right     now.

[biblicalhorror]

Thinking about my Rook hours </3